Cold iron pressed against Rin's wrists.
A sharp ache ran through his entire body as consciousness slowly returned.
Rin groaned and forced his eyes open.
He was hanging in chains.
Both his hands were bound above him, his legs barely touching the stone floor beneath.
The room was dim, lit only by a few flickering torches that made the shadows crawl along the walls.
And sitting calmly in front of him—
was Ronan.
Ronan wore the same gentle smile as always.
As if this were nothing more than a casual conversation.
Rin's throat tightened.
His voice came out shaken.
"What do you want from me...?"
Ronan tilted his head.
"What do you mean?"
For a second, silence filled the room.
Then Rin laughed.
A dry, bitter laugh.
"You can stop pretending."
Ronan's smile remained.
Rin lifted his head, his red eyes trembling yet sharp.
"If you wanted to, you could kill every one of the eight thousand people in this kingdom within minutes."
His breathing grew heavier.
"And yet..."
"You haven't killed a single one."
Ronan said nothing.
Rin continued, his voice growing firmer.
"I know what your ability is."
Ronan's eyes narrowed almost invisibly.
Rin gritted his teeth.
"It's control."
"Those eight thousand people outside..."
"They aren't living citizens."
"They're walking corpses."
"Empty puppets dancing on your strings."
Rin's chains rattled as he pulled forward.
"And little by little..."
"You're turning my friends into your puppets, too."
The room fell silent.
Ronan's gentle smile slowly faded.
What replaced it made Rin's blood freeze.
The corners of Ronan's lips curled upward into something far darker.
A smile that no longer looked human.
A smile filled with twisted delight.
"Heh..."
Ronan let out a low chuckle.
"What a clever boy."
He stood up and walked toward Rin.
Each footstep echoed like a death sentence.
When he stopped, he was only inches away.
Ronan leaned close.
His whisper slid into Rin's ear like poison.
"That is exactly why..."
"I want you working for me."
Rin lifted his head and smiled coldly.
"I'd rather die than work for some puppet master."
For the first time, Ronan's eyes darkened.
A few steps behind him, Ryzan let out a low chuckle.
The massive man folded his arms and spoke in a rough voice.
"Kid..."
"You should be careful with what you say."
Rin frowned.
Ryzan pointed downward.
"Look below."
Rin slowly lowered his gaze.
The colour drained from his face.
Beneath him was not a floor—
but a massive bottomless hole.
A black abyss stretched endlessly under his dangling feet.
Only the chains attached to his wrists were keeping him from plunging into the darkness.
A cold sweat ran down Rin's neck.
Ryzan grinned.
"If you don't listen..."
"You'll end up inside that pit."
Rin swallowed hard, unable to take his eyes off the void beneath him.
Ryzan continued, his voice almost amused.
"No one knows exactly what lives down there."
"But one thing is certain."
"It definitely holds Grade Z monsters."
Rin's body froze.
Grade Z.
The highest known monster classification.
Creatures so terrifying that their mere presence alone was enough to crush ordinary humans to death.
Monsters that existed closer to natural disasters than living beings.
And the worst part—
Some Grade Z monsters possessed intelligence greater than humans.
Cruel intelligence.
They did not simply kill their prey.
They played with it.
Tore it apart.
Fed on its fear.
And many of them would not stop even after death had come.
Rin's breathing turned shallow.
His fingers trembled against the chains.
One drop.
One mistake.
And he would fall into a nest of nightmares no human should ever witness.
Ryzan's grin widened.
"So think carefully, boy."
"Death would be mercy compared to what waits below."
Rin knew exactly what Grade Z meant.
Grade Z monsters were not simply beasts.
They were beings humans called impossible.
Existences so close to gods that the line between monster and deity no longer mattered.
Some could grant blessings.
Some could twist space and time.
Some could overwrite the very laws of the universe as if reality itself were clay in their hands.
To fall into that abyss was to fall into the domain of false gods.
Death was the kindest outcome one could hope for.
Silence filled the chamber.
Rin stared down into the endless darkness for several seconds.
His face was pale.
His body trembled.
Then—
He smiled.
Ronan narrowed his eyes.
Rin slowly lifted his head.
His red eyes were no longer filled with fear.
Only madness.
Only hatred.
He looked straight at Ronan.
"Cut the chain."
For the first time, Ronan looked genuinely surprised.
"...Are you sure?"
Rin's lips slowly stretched wider.
Then he started laughing.
A broken, manic laugh that echoed through the room.
"Hahaha... hahaha..."
Ryzan frowned.
Even Ronan remained silent.
Rin's laughter grew louder.
"Don't worry..."
His voice cracked with murderous delight.
"I'll return from death for you!"
Ronan's smile vanished.
Rin suddenly roared at the top of his lungs, every vein in his neck bulging.
"I WILL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!"
His chains rattled violently.
"MARK MY WORDS!"
The room shook with the force of his scream.
For a brief second, even Ronan's companions felt a chill.
Ronan slowly stepped back.
He gave a small nod.
The violet-haired swordsman moved forward.
With one clean motion—
SHING!
The chain was severed.
Rin's body dropped instantly into the abyss.
Wind roared past him.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
But even as he vanished into the black pit, his furious voice continued to echo upward—
"I WILL COME FOR YOU!"
"I SWEAR IT!"
And then—
He disappeared.
Into the kingdom of monsters.
Ronan smiled as he said, "I will be waiting for you, Rin."